Exam 3 Study Guide

Question 1

Assembly Language

Answer 1

Processor or architecture specific programming language.

Low-level.
Generation 2 Langauge

Question 2

Programming Paradigm

Answer 2

A “style” or “way” of programming.

Not linked to a specific language.

Common Forms:

Structured
Procedural
Functional
Object-Oriented

Question 3

Structured Programming

Answer 3

Programming paradigm that emerged in popularity after GOTO statements were widely considered harmful.

Makes extensive use of control blocks like if-else, loops like while and for, and subroutines like functions.

Question 4

Grammar

Answer 4

The formal structure that defines the syntax of a programming language.

Sometimes called “Context-Free” Grammars.

Question 5

Compiler

Answer 5

A computer program that transforms code written in one language to another language.

Typically from a higher level language to a lower level one, like machine language.

Question 6

Interpreter

Answer 6

A computer program that directly executes instructions written in a programming or scripting language, without requiring them to have been compiled into a machine language program.

Question 7

Encapsulation

Answer 7

The idea of bundling data and methods that work on that data within one unit, e.g., a class.

A fundamental concept of Object-Oriented Programming

Question 8

Data Structure

Answer 8

A collection of data points or variables, the relationships among them, and the functions or operations that can be applied to the data.

Popular Examples:

Array, Linked-List, Object

Question 9

Parameter

Answer 9

A variable to be passed to a function or method.

Defined in the function signature.

Example:

string MyFunction(var myParameter)

myParameter is a parameter.

Question 10

Machine Independent

Answer 10

Code or software that is not dependent on the properties of a particular machine, and can therefore be used on any machine.

Question 11

Global Variable

Answer 11

A variable accessible from anywhere within the program, thus it is considered “global”.

Question 12

Local Variable

Answer 12

A variable only accessible from within the scope in which it is defined or declared.

A common example would be a variable declared within a function.

Question 13

Constructor

Answer 13

A special type of method that orchestrates the creation and initialization of an object.

Question 14

Prototyping

Answer 14

The activity of creating incomplete versions of a software program being developed simulating only a few aspects of a program to get quick feedback.

Question 15

Component Architecture

Answer 15

An architecture based on independent, replaceable, modular components to help to manage complexity and encourage re-use.

Question 16

Design Phase

Answer 16

A phase of the software development lifecycle that occurs before actual programming.

In this phase you layout the overall structure of the project, create diagrams, etc.

Question 17

Structure Chart

Answer 17

A chart which shows the breakdown of a system to its lowest manageable levels.

Used in structured programming to arrange program modules into a tree. Each module is represented by a box, which contains the module’s name.

Question 18

Cohesion

Answer 18

The degree to which the elements inside a module belong together.

Basically, how much your classes\modules keep to themselves instead of touching other classes\modules.

Question 19

Sequence Diagram

Answer 19

A diagram showing the flow of a program in a step by step manner.

Typically uses UML symbols.

Question 20

Use Case Diagram

Answer 20

A specific type of sequence diagram that shows a particular set of choices or branches being made and the program flow that comes from those choices or branches.

Question 21

UML

Answer 21

Unified Modeling Language.

General-purpose modeling language intended to provide a standard way to visualize the design of a system.

Question 22

Global Data

Answer 22

Data items\variables available to all modules in the system.

Question 23

Modularity

Answer 23

The division of software into manageable units where each deals with only a sub-section or part of the software’s overall responsibility.

Question 24

Structured Walk-Through

Answer 24

It is an organized procedure for a group of peers to review and discuss the technical aspects of a program to find errors and to improve the quality of the product.

In Structured Walkthrough, the programmer explains the logic of the algorithm, while members of the programming team step through the program logic.

Question 25

Incremental Model

Answer 25

Method of software development where the product is designed, implemented and tested incrementally (a little more is added each time) until the product is finished.

Question 26

Top-Down

Answer 26

Software development design approach emphasizing planning and a complete understanding of the system. No coding can begin until a sufficient level of detail has been reached in the design.

Contrasts with Bottom-Up design where coding begins almost immediately, as soon as one component has been defined.

Question 27

Requirements Analysis

Answer 27

Part of the software engineering process to determine the needs of a project. Analyzing, documenting, validating and managing software or system requirements.

Question 28

Implementation

Answer 28

The phase of the software development process where actual coding happens. You create the software from the design and requirements documents